Classifier



C. HARRELL 'May 22, 1934.

CLASSIFIER 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 28 INVENTOR CZMAS l /aj' ATTORIVEY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Char/as //arr 6 c. HARRELL GLASSIFIER Filed Ju ne 28, 1953 May 22, 1934.

ATTORNEY Patented May 22, 1934 I CLASSIFIER Charles Harrell, Wateree, S. 0., assignor of onethird to Jefferson B. Bates, Wateree, S. 0., and one-third to Harry E. Dixon, Columbia, S. 0.

Application June 28, 1933, Serial No. 678,069

7 Claims. (Cl. 21051) This invention relates to certain new and usea downwardly presented cone form valve seat E ful improvements in classifiers for separating to receive and seat the upper cone face of a closolids from liquids and is capable of, and intendsure plu or valve F n te to the lower end ed for, use in any art in which this function is to of a vertical rod G. be performed. A suitable housing having tubular arms 2 and 60 The principle of my invention involves the op- 9 nd the differential housing Portion 4 eXtendS posing of the resistance of the accumulating mass across the top of the tank pp B and is of solids or semi-solids to a source of stored encu t e to a ai re movement in y ergy whereby when such resistance overcomes the Su table manner as illustrated.

0 opposed power of said stored energy mechanism v Shaft 1 te th ou t a m 65 will be caused to operate to discharge some of said 2 and is Suitably Supported therein y bearings, accumulated solids or semi-solids, thereby renot wn, f r o n i r p ct h r o and moving the resistance of the latter, whereupon a t bev led ear 3 0f t difie 'e t l h the power of said stored energy will reversely opo nted On its inner end to turn therewith.

erate the mechanism to stop such discharge of The Shaft 5 disposed perpendicular to he 70 such solids or semi-solids and restore the parts mmon axis 0f the shafts 1 and 8 and extends to their initial position, through the short tubular arm 6 wherein it is The primary objects of my invention are to supp rt d y suita l a s, n t s ow for provide dependable intermittently operating aurotation t A beveled a 7 unted on tomatic means for opening and positively and the upp nd inner end of the shaft 5 to turn 75 completely closing the discharge valve of a setew t is in m W t t ring a 3- The tling tank or hopper; to control the timing of ng ear 13 is secured in usual manner to the the opening and closing of said valve by th ri differential gear case 12 in which are radially ing and falling level of the accumulated solids mounted h difiel'entiel P11110118 11 respectively orsemi-solids in the tank or hopper whereby the in mesh with each of the beveled gears 3 and 10 discharge of liquid with the solids may be ef- Of t e d fi'ere tial assemblage. fectually guarded against; and, considered more A supporting frame, beam or bar 15. preferanarrowly, to provide means whereby the power bly of elongated U shape so as to have its medial necessary to operate the automatic intermittent portion raised appreciably above the shafts l solids discharge mechanism may be obtained and 8 and so above the upper edge of the tank from the separately discharged liquids. or hopper B, is secured in any desired or usual One practicalembodiment of the invention is manner to the latter, and a bea v having illustrated in the drawings wherein: arms 14 and 16 is pivotallymounted thereon ad- Figure 1 represents a top plan view of a classijacent its medial portion by any suitable means,

35 fier embodying my invention; such as a pin 18, and the upper end of the valve 9 Figure 2, a vertical cross sectional view on the stem or rod G is bifurcated to receive the arm line 2-2 of Fig. 1; 14 of said lever and is connected thereto in any Figure 3, a side elevation illustrating the harsuitable manner to move upward and downward nessing of the power of the discharged liquids therewith, as for instance by means of a pivot to operate the automatic intermittent operatpin 17 pass through the Said bifurcations a ing mechanism; the interposed portion of the arm 14.

Figure 4, an enlarged detail fragmentary sec- Any suitable means for applying restored energy tion through the differential assembly and adto the said beam lever to cause the free end of jacent portions to illustrate the drive; and its arm 14 to move away from the shaft 8 may be Figure 5, a fragmentary view of a modification employed. In the embodiment illustrated a wherein an electric motor acting directly on drive weight 19 applied to the arm 16 is employed for shaft 1 is substituted for the drive means illusthis purpose. trated in previous views. A blade or paddle 20 is secured to the lower Referring now in detail to the drawings, A desend of the paddle shaft 5 to turn therewith.

ignates the supply chute through which liquid A cable 21 secured to the eye 23 of the arm 14 with solid matter suspended therein is introduced of the beam lever is attached to the spool or into the hopper B from which it escapes by the drum 22 secured to the end of the shaft 8 to turn discharge C into the discharge fiume D. The therewith. Shaft 8 extends inhousing arm 9 and sides of the hopper B converge downwardly to a bevel gear 10 is secured to the inner end of shaft 55 central discharge opening which is provided with '8 to turn therewith.

The operation is briefly as follows. So long as the highest level of the accumulated solids or semi-solids remains below the paddle 20 there is no resistance to the free turning of said paddle 20 in the liquid and hence no resistance to the free rotation of the paddle shaft 5, whereas the weight 19 acting through the leverage of said beam lever, the cable 21 and spool or drum 22,

.will offer a resistance to the rotation of the shaft 8 with the drive shaft 1, so that the pinions 11 as driven by the beveled gear 3 will ride around over the beveled gear 10 and in so doing will carry with them the differential gear case 12 and ring gear 13, which will drive the beveled gear 7 mounted on paddle shaft 5 to rotate therewith, so that under these circumstances the paddle shaft 5 will rotate while pulley or drum shaft 8 will remain stationary. As the solid or semi-solid material accumulates beyond this point and rises above the lower edge of the paddle 20 it will offer an increasing resistance to the turning of the latter until it reaches approximately the level indicated at X, at which point the resistance offered by the mass of accumulated solids or semisolids will be greater than the force exerted by the weight 19, so that the pinions 11 will cease to roll over or around the beveled gear 10, but instead will couple the latter with the drive shaft 1, whereby shafts 1 and 8 will turn together, resulting in the cable 21 being wound up on the drum or spool 22 and so pulling the end of arm 14 of the beam lever down and thus shoving the valve rod or stem G down to force the valve F out of the discharge opening E so that the accumulated solids or semi-solids may discharge therethrough. As soon as the solids or semi-solids start to discharge, their level in the hopper or tank B starts to fall and so progressively relieves the resistance to the rotation of the paddle 20 and as such resistance is removed from said paddle 20 the force of the power of the weight 19 overcomes the decreasing resistance transmitted by the paddle 20, depressing the arm 16 of the beam lever to its initial position, so raising the arm 14 of said lever and firmly and positively pulling the valve or plug F back to its initial seated closed position to prevent further discharge of the solids or semisolids until the latter have again accumulated, so that the level of the accumulated solids or semisolids never drops below an approximate selected level such as Y, and never rises above an approximate selected level indicated at X'.

The weight 19 is mounted on the arm 16-50 as to be slidable endwise thereof and may be locked in any desired position of adjustment thereon by any suitable means, such as a binding or friction screw 24 passing through a portion of the weight 19 and engaging against the side of said arm 16, in accordance with usual well known practice. By reason of this adjustment the mechanism may be very delicately or closely set.

The shaft 1 may be driven by an suitable means. Where there is a large flow of liquid, as for instance the discharge of water with its suspended sand from a gravel washer, the separated water as discharged from the classifier may be used to furnish the power to drive the shaft 1, and in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 I have illustrated an embodiment wherein this is done. A shaft 26 is mounted in suitable bearings, not shown, on the lower end of the liquid discharge flume D, a paddle wheel 25 being keyed to this shaft 26 to turn therewith and being driven by the liquid as discharged from said fiume. A sprocket wheel 27 secured to the outer end of said shaft 26 fV to drive a sprocket chain 28 which in turn drives a sprocket wheel 29 secured to a shaft 30 to turn therewith, said shaft being mounted in suitable bearings in a bracket 31 and having mounted on its outer end to turn therewith a gear 32 which in turn meshes with a gear 33 mounted on the outer end of shaft 1 to turn therewith.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 5, the construction and operation are the same as in the preferred form except that instead of the drive means therein illustrated for the shaft 1 I substitute an electric motor 34 operating directly on shaft 1 to rotate the same, said motor 34 being mounted in any suitable manner, as by a bracket or support 35 suitably secured in a usual manner to the side of the tank or hopper B or any other suitable fixed support.

Obviously any other and suitable means of driving the shaft 1 may be substituted for either of the means herein illustrated.

It will be apparent that the beam lever having arms 14 and 16 may be substituted by a quite different element or mechanism so long as the function is preserved, and this observation applies also as to the cable 21, spool or drum 22 and the weight or source of stored energy 19. Similarly the type of valve seat or discharge opening 3, the type of valve or plug F and the rod or valve stem G may be replaced by any other suitable type of mechanism functioning to open and close a discharge opening in any manner.

Likewise, the shafts l, 5 and 8 may be replaced by any other means capable of functioning to the same general end and any power transmitting or connecting means capable of transmitting power from a drive element or mechanism to one driven element or mechanism, and at the same time either turning freely with relation to a second selectively driven element or coupling itself thereto according as resistance to the turning or movement ofthe first mentioned driven element or mechanism is absent or is built up to a point where the coupling action is brought into play, may be employed in place of the differential assembly.

In other words, in this application I have merely illustrated several of the present preferred embodiments of my invention simply by Way of illustration of the practice thereof, as by law required. However, the invention is capable of being embodied in a great many different forms, the exact form of embodiment being a matter of no particular importance and the various detail elements being of no importance whatsoever, except insofar as their presence in a particular embodiment may be necessary to the proper functioning of that particular embodiment or preferred for use in that particular embodiment.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by U. S. Letters Patent is:

1. A classifier for separating liquids and solids or semi-solids and having a settling tank with inlet and overflow means at the top, a discharge orifice at the bottom, a plug for closing said orifice, and a rod connected to said plug for moving the same to open or to close said orifice, in combination with a drive shaft, means for constantly driving the same, a paddle shaft extending down into said tank, a paddle rigidly secured to the lower end of said paddle shaft at such level as to be subject to the resistance to its turning of the said solids or semi-solids when they accumulate in said tank above a given point, a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on a fixed object, a weight slidably adjustably mounted on one arm of said lever, means for securing said weight in any adjusted position, means pivotally connecting said rod to the other arm of said lever, an intermittently driven shaft, a drum secured to said intermittently driven shaft, a cable connected to the last mentioned arm of said lever and to said drum, a bevel gear' connected to the upper end of said paddle shaft to turn therewith, and a differential gear interposed between said drive shaft and intermittently driven shaft to intermittently couple the latter to the former, and having a continuously driven ring gear meshing with and constantly driving said bevel gear on said paddle position and hold it in such position until the applied power of said weight is again equaled by said resistance.

2. A classifier for separating liquids and solids or semi-solids and having a settling tank with inlet and overflow means at the top, a discharge orifice at the bottom, a plug for closing said orifice, and a rod connected to said plug for moving the same to open or to close said orifice, in combination with a drive shaft, means for constantly driving the same, a paddle shaft extending down into said tank, a paddle rigidly secured to the lower end of said paddle shaft at such level as to be subject to the resistance to its turning of the said solids or semi-solids when they accumulate in said tank above a given point, a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on a fixed object, a weight mounted on one arm of said lever, means pivotally connecting said rod to the other arm of said lever, an intermittently driven shaft, a drum secured to said intermittently driven shaft, a cable connected to the last mentioned arm of said lever and to said drum, a bevel gear connected to the upper end of said paddle shaft to turn therewith, and a differential gear interposed between said drive shaft and intermittently driven shaft to intermittently couple the latter to the former and having a continuously driven ring gear meshing with and constantly driving said bevel gear on said paddle shaft.

3. A discharge plug operating mechanism for a classifier having a settling tank with inlet and overflow means at the top, a discharge orifice at the bottom, a plug for closing said orifice, and a rod connected to said plug for moving the same to open or to close said orifice, said mechanism comprising a drive shaft, means for constantly intermittently driven shaft, a cable connected to the last mentioned arm of said lever and to said drum, a bevel gear connected to the upper end of said paddle shaft to turn therewith, and a differential gear interposed between said drive shaft and intermittently driven shaft to intermittently couple the latter to the former and having a continuously driven ring gear meshing with and constantly driving said bevel gear on said paddle shaft.

4. A discharge element operating mechanism for a classifier having a settling tank with inlet and overflow means at the top, a discharge orifice at the bottom and a closure element for closing said orifice, said mechanism comprising a drive shaft, means for constantly driving the same, a paddle shaft extending down into said tank, a paddle rigidly secured to the lower end of said paddle shaft at such level as to be subject to the resistance to its turning of the said solids or semisolids when they accumulate in said tank above a given point, a weight, connections between said closure element and said weight whereby the latter acts to exert power tending to move said closure element into, and hold it in, position closing said orifice, an intermittently driven shaft, means connecting said weight and said intermittently driven shaft, a bevel gear connected to the upper end of said paddle shaft to turn therewith, and a differential gear interposed between said drive shaft and intermittently driven shaft to intermittently couple the latter to the former to lift said weight and move said closure element to open said orifice, and having a continuously driven ring gear meshing with and constantly driving said bevel gear on said paddle shaft.

5. A classifier having a settling tank with inlet and overflow means at the top, a discharge orifice at the bottom and a plug for closing said orifice, in combination with a drive shaft, means driven by said drive shaft and having movement in said settling tank and being subject to the resistance of said solids or semi-solids when they accumulate in said tank above a given point, a source of energy, connections between said plug and said source of energy whereby the latter acts to exert power tending to move said plug into, and hold it in, position closing said orifice, an intermittently driven shaft, means operated by said intermittent- 1y driven shaft for moving said plug out of said orifice, coupling and uncoupling means controlled by the variations in the degree of resistance offered to the movement of said driven means in said tank, a flume receiving the liquid from said overflow means, a power generating element driven by the liquid flowing in said fiume, and drive connections between said power generating element and said drive shaft for driving the latter.

6. A solids discharge plug operating mechanism for a classifier having a settling tank with inlet and overflow means at the top, a discharge orifice at the bottom and a plug for closing said orifice, said mechanism comprising a drive element and means driven by said drive element and having movement in said settling tank and being subject to the resistance of said solids or semi-solids when they accumulate in said tank above a given point, in combination with a source of energy, connections between said plug and said source of energy whereby the latter acts to exert power tending to move said plug into, and hold it in, position closing said orifice, an intermittently driven element, means operated by said intermittently driven element for moving said plug out of said orifice, and coupling and uncoupling means controlled by the variations in the degree of resistance offered to the movement of said driven means in said tank whereby when said resistance equals the applied power of said source of energy said driven element will be coupled to said drive element and driven thereby to move said plug to open position and when said resistance drops below said applied power said driven element will be uncoupled from said drive element and said source of energy will act to move said plug to closed position and hold it in such position until its applied power is again equaled by said resistance.

of energy, connections between said closure element and said source of energy whereby the latter acts to exert power tending to move said closure element into, and hold it in, position closing said orifice, an intermittently driven element, means operated by said intermittently driven element for moving said closure element to open said orifice, and coupling and uncoupling means controlled by the variations in the degree of resistance oifered to the movement of said driven means in said tank whereby when said resistance equals the applied power of said source of energy said driven element will be coupled to said drive element and driven thereby to move said closure elementto open position and when said resistance drops below said applied power said driven element will be uncoupled from said drive element and said source of energy will act to move said closure element to closed position and hold it in such position until the applied power of said source of energy is again CHARLES HARREIL. 

